Comic books increase literacy and reading

Benjamin Kreger at Northwest Comic Fest

Following in the footsteps of Stan Lee, writer and publisher Benjamin Kreger advocates comic books as a way to introduce children to reading. He believes that the more people read, the better off they will be.

“Comic books help kids get into books,” says Kreger. They move from comics to Harry Potter to literature, a fact that more libraries are recognizing. Independent comic creators and publishers enrich the comic book community through variety of stories and genres.

“When you have only one of anything, life gets boring, and I think it just gets more difficult,” says Kreger. While Marvel and DC are great, they focus on superheroes. “With independent comics, you get a greater range of stories.”

Kreger’s adult content Black Suit of Death #1 is being funded through a Kickstarter project that runs until Sept. 14, 2015. The comic is described as a sci-fi, horror satire that follows Edd Grimes as he faces the struggles of depression and being a nice guy whose violent thoughts are brought to life through the power of the suit.

“Comic books are a medium where any story can be told,” says Kreger. “Independent comic books give you that diversity that I think is important.” Kreger says that reading just one genre can lead to closed minds.

Kreger has also published The Less than Historical Adventures of Li’l Lincoln. His publishing company Warrior Innkeeper Creative is located in Independence, OR.

This article was originally published on examiner.com. Links have been updated July 2016.